Metal sheet-piling.



J. R. WEMLINGER. METAL SHEET PILING. ON FILED FEB.1.7, 1910. RENEWEDJULY 17, 1912.

APPLIOATI Invenor 1% 4 :41

Patented Jan. 13, 1914.

U TED ES PATEN OFFICE.

METAL SHEET-PILING.

Losaaao.

Application filed February 17, 1910, Serial No. 544,449.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jones R. \VEMLIN- GER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented new and useful Improvements in Metal Sheet- Piling,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in metal sheet-pilingconstructed of corrugated plates provided with locking devices whichserve to make the same interlocking.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a metalsheet-piling which shall possess the greatest possible water-tightnesscombined with freedom of driving and pulling.

In order that my invention may be fully understood, 1 will describe thesame in detail by referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings whichforms part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a sectionalplan of my improved metal sheet-piling, showing one complete sectionthereof interlocked with portions of contiguous sections; Fig. 2 is aperspective view of one of my improved sheet-piles; Fig. 3 is anenlarged view of the locking edge and locking clip; and Fig. 4 is asectional plan of a corner section of my improved metal sheet-piling.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the typical form of sheet-pile that embodiesmy invention consists of a corrugated section or plate 1 having,preferably, five corrugations, the

central one of which is provided with a lonv gitudinal locking strip orclip 2 that serves to interlock contiguous units of sheet-plhng. Eachcorrugated sheet or plate is composed of arcs 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, joinedtogether con- I secutively bytangents 8, 9, 10 and 11, preferably at anangle of .60 degrees to the horizontal center line of the section. Itwill be noted that the arcs 3 and 7 which are alike are of smallerradius than the like arcs 4 and 6. The result of this arrangement isthat when sections of my improved sheet-piling are interlocked they arein contact only at the extreme top and bottom of the corrugations or, inother words, at only two points between the locking clips 2. This is avery ii'npo-rtant fcatureof this invention and eliminates the mostimportant defect of corrugated sections for sheetpiling,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 33,1914.

Renewed July 17, 1912. Serial No. 710,056.

when the same are made to fit closely as shown in U. S. Patents Nos.776,132 and 776,147, in which case it was intended to haye the sheets inclose contact at every point. In actual practice, this arrangementresulted in an enormous amount of friction causing very hard driving andexceedingly great difiiculty in pulling. Theoretically, of course, thefriction being independent of surface, should be no greater in one casethan in the other; the fact is, however, that the surfaces of metal incontact are by no means ideal ones and the natural roughness thereofprovides minute projections and depressions that look together when thesheets are in contact under pressure. This surface locking causesenormous friction which must be overcome by the blow of the pile driverand greatly limits its useful force. My improvement eliminates not onlythis excessive friction but, also, what is quite as important,

decreases to almost nothing the surfaces of metal that can rust togetherwhile the sheetpiling is in position in the ground or in water.

Probably the most useful advantage of metal sheet-piling is itsadaptability to continuous usage by being pulled and reused after thework to be done through its temporary application has been completed. Atthe same time, the most serious defect of commercial metal sheet-pilingis the rusting together of the sheet-piles when they are left in ositionfor acomparatively short time. ften, attempts to pull the sheetpilinghave resulted in much expense and delay, breakage of pulling machinery,and, frequently complete loss of sheet-piling itself because it couldnot be pulled economically or at all. It is evident, therefore, that myimprovement is of great commercial value and while it retains all theadvantages of the corrugated section for sheet-piling as regards greatstrength and stiffness combined with lightness, it eliminates completelythe defects aforementioned.

Referring now to Fi 3 for a detailed description of the interl ockingarrangement, it will be noted that the locking clip 2 is arranged withshoulders 12 and tongues 13, the latter terminating in outwardly curvedlips 14. The clip 2 in this case is formed of a rolled section, but itmay be formed of a plate pressed to the required shape, in which casethe shoulders 12 will not be as sharp as shown in Fig. 3; theseshoulders should, however, be square enough to prevent a void in whichthe free edge 17 of the sheet-pile may wedge itself in the process ofdriving.

As shown, the tongues 13 project over the edge 17 of each sheet theyserve to lock to the sheet of which they form an essential part. Thesetongues are curved so that they are in contact with the said edges onlyat one point 15 and, furthermore, owing to the outward curve of the lips14, any tendency of the sharp edges of the locking tongues 13 to cutinto the metal of the sheet-piles in contact therewith is entirelyavoided. This is also a feature of practical importance because iteliminates another defect often found in interlocking sheet-piling.

It will be seen that the tongues 13 are shaped so as to provide an innerspace or clearance 16, which performs a very useful function, as will beexplained presently. While in transit and during the handlingpreliminary to actual driving of the sheetpiling, the edges 17 are verylikely to be indented or buckled in places and although the same may bestraightened before driving, this demands valuable time and more carethan is usually possible in the field. Therefore, it is advisable tohave locking means that will not require careful and expensivestraightening of all marginal indentations or kinks, except reallyserious ones, but that will easily and eifectually lock the sheet-pilestogether in spite of such defects or imperfections. This is easilyaccomplished by the arrangement of locking clip shown.

Under ordinary conditions, i. e. where the sheetpiling is driven in thesoil, the same is generally found to be sufficiently water-tight withouta specially close interlock, but where the sheet-piling is used forcolferdams in clear water or in other places where the hydrostaticpressure is excessive, a fairly tight interlock is needed. To providefor this emergelmy, the tongues 13 are shaped so that when the edge 17of one sheet is entered under the clip it is slightly deflected orsprung from its original position, shown in dotted lines, to that shownin full lines in Fig. 3. This makes a lock which, combined with theoverlapping features of this type of interlocking sheet-piling, makes itmore watertight than any other type heretofore devised. The manner inwhich this tightness of interlock is secured is the cause of itseffectiveness and, being novel, will be explained in some detail.Heretofore, when it was desired to securewater-tightness by means of anelastic joint, the locking clip was usually made flexible. This,however, will not accomplish the desired purpose be cause, although theclip itself may be flexible, the material in which itis driven usuallypacks so tightly against it as to prevent any motion of the clip andthereby counteracts its flexibility. I avoid this defect by leaving theclip inflexible, or at least nearly so, and by taking advantage of thefact that the comparatively long and free edge 17 is not only naturallvmore flexible than the tongue 13, but it is, also, entirely free to movethere being little, if any soil, packed in the open space 16 of theinterlock.

By reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the locking clip 2 issomewhat shorter at each end than the main sheet 1. This is a valuablefeature as it makes it possible to ClIlXB the pile without injury to thelocking device which would likely be the case if the clips were extendedto the ends of the pile.

As indicated in the drawings, the clip 2 is secured to the corrugatedsheet 1 by means of flat headed rivets 18, which are prefer- .able tothe round headed rivets usually employed because they oifer much lessresistance in driving and pulling than the latter.

19 are open holes provided for the inscrtion of hooks required for thehoisting of the sheet-piles in position and also for pulling the samewhen not driven too deeply or driven in soft soil. If the piling isdriven deeply or in hard soils. it is seldom advisable to try pullingwith hooks or shackles u passed through the holes 19, as this causes thetearing out of the metal. out it is better and more satisfactory to drawthe piling with some kind of tongs arranged to grip the metal solidlybetween strong jaws.

Corner sections of corrugated sheet-piling can be readily made by takingtwo halves of regular sections with a portion of the tangents on theother side of the center line of the sheets and securing the sametogether at the desired angle as at 19 by means of rivets 20 as clearlyindicated in Fig. 4.

While I have hereinbefore described in detail one embodiment of myinvention, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the artthat changes may be made in the form of the structure disclosed withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, since What I claim and desireto secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a metal sheet-piling, a sectionhaving a plurality of corrugations, the end corrugations having arcs ofsmaller radius than the arcs of the intermediate corrugations.

2. A metal sheet-piling comprising a plurality of corrugated sectionsarranged to overlap at their margins, each edge of each section beingsecured and locked to the body of the adjoining section, and thesurfaces of the overlapping portions engaging only at the centers of thearcs of their corrugations.

3. In metal sheet-piling, a plurality of corrugated sections arranged tooverlap at their margins, the' overlapping portions constructed toengage only at the centers of the corrugations.

4c. In metal sheet-piling, a section having a plurality of corrugations,the end corrugations having arcs of smaller radius than the arcs of theintermediate corrugations, means carried by each section for guiding andlocking each of the edges of the overlapping portions, said guidmg meanscaus ing said overlapping edges to spring outwardly and remainundertension.

5. In metal sheet-piling, a section having a plurality of corrugations,the end corrugations having arcs of smaller radius than the arcs of theintermediate corrugations, and means carried by each section for lookingthe edges of the overlapping portions under spring tension.

6. In metal sheet-piling, a splicing and locking strip for guiding andlocking the edges of adjoining sections, said strip being arcuate incross-section and provided with an inflexible offset flange or tonguebent outwardly at its base and connected thereto by means of a rigidshoulder and having its projecting end returned to engage the adjoiningsection.

7. In metal sheet-piling, a splicing and locking strip for guiding andlocking the edges of adjoining sections, said strip being arcuate incross-section and provided with an oflset flange ortongue bent toinclose a larger space adjacent to its base than at its outer end. i

8. In metal sheet-piling, a splicing and locking strip; for guiding andlocking the edges of ad oining sections, said strip ing arcuate incross-section and provided with v an offset flange or tongue bent toinclose a larger space adjacent to its base than at its outer end andhaving said outer end curved outwardly.

9. In metal sheet-piling, a splicing and locking strip for guiding andlocking the edges of adjoining sections, said strip being arcuate incross-section and provided upon either side with offset flanges ortongues bent to inclose a larger space adjacent to their bases than attheir outer ends.

10. In metal sheet-piling, corrugated sectionsarranged to overlap acrossone or more corrugations, splicing and locking strips secured to each ofsaid sections, each strip having an inflexible oflset flange adapted toproject over and deflect and lock the edges of the overlappingport-ions, said strips terminating at their upper ends at a distancebelow the top of the sections.

11. In metal sheet-piling, a plurality of corrugated sections havingflexible edges and arranged to overlap at their margins, a section beingprovided with an inflexible interlocking device formed to provide alarger space adjacent its base than at its outer end, and adapted toengage the flexible edgesof the overlapping sections and to forciblydeflect the same, whereby said edges are held in close contact wit-h theinterlocking device.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JULIUS R. WEMLINGER.

Witnesses:

FLORENCE J. VALSH, O'rro TH. CARPENTIER.

